


Hundreds of Stories

by PaperThinRevolutionary (SingFortissimo)



Series: King's College [13]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Character Development, Fluff, M/M, a deeper analyzation of the ham man, especially not with midterms around the corner, one that i should not be signing up for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-08-23 02:39:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8310685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingFortissimo/pseuds/PaperThinRevolutionary
Summary: John brings up the concept of 30 day challenges, and Alexander takes one upon himself as well, digging into his own thoughts, memories, and actions along the way.





	1. Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> shoutout to Indi and Pip for helping me with this, what started as a random group iMessage about four hours ago and is now a multichapter fic. Hope you guys are willing to put up with me during this adventure. ily

John was always one for challenges when it came to his art. Currently, he had taken it upon himself to do two challenges simultaneously; photography and drawing. Alex noticed this when he saw John leaving with his art bag and Polaroid camera early one morning, way before classes, and when he asked what he was up to.. Well, John just grinned and said “art.” 

Later that evening when he came home from class and his little expedition, Alex asked him to clarify. He did so eagerly. 

“See, it’s… Well, I found these.” John said, rifling through his sketchbook and producing two printed lists. They were already covered in scribbles and sketches, and the first on each were scratched out. John looked at the small polaroid square and his drawing both before handing them to Alex as well. “They’re thirty-day challenges. I thought it might be sort of fun to do. I’ve never really tried one outside of that Inktober thing.” He shrugged a little. “I’m definitely doing the rest of the photo challenge digitally though.” 

Alex’s eyes drifted to the square, already sharpie’d on with the day’s date. The photo showed John’s reflection in the Ramble and Lake. The look Alex had on his face was enough for John to laugh and nudge it towards him. “I already took a shot of it on my phone. You can keep it if you want.” He said softly. 

Alex lit up and pulled John into a gentle kiss. “Thank you, sweetheart… But.. Tell me more about these challenges.” He was oddly interested, wondered if they had any he could do… 

“Ah, yeah. It’s meant to help you grow as an artist, give you prompts when you can’t think of any on your own. I actually had a feeling you might be interested in it.” John laughed gently and started rifling through his bag, pulling out a leather bound notebook and a new pen, handing them both to Alex with a grin. “I found a prompt list I thought you would like and printed it out for you, I’ve got it in there already.” He smiled and kissed his nose. “You don’t have to do it by any means, but… Well.. It may be fun. Maybe next month we can find one to do together?” He smiled, wrapping around Alex from behind and kissing his neck lightly. 

Delicate hands held onto the notebook as if it would fall apart if he was too rough. The look on John’s face was enough to tell him that he must have had stars in his eyes. “John, baby, it’s beautiful.” he whispered softly, tracing his fingers over the gold leafed edges, along the intricate patterns stamped into the soft brown leather. Alex couldn’t help but raise the book, flip open to the middle, inhale. 

Sweet, soft, crisp. He could smell the leather—real leather—and the fresh pages. New book smell, notebook or otherwise, was one of the best in the world. Well, Alex could think of a few others, and his eyes drifted to John at the thought, but he shook them off in an attempt to keep his thoughts PG for the time being. Though, he could already smell ink on the pages, the sweet scent of an artists ink, the same that always lingered on John, and he flipped to the cover. 

John had written a note in there. 

In his elegant, messy scrawl, Alex read; 

_Alex,  
I know it’s kind of a cheesy gift, but I thought you might enjoy it. I’ve seen you eyeing this notebook more often than you’d like to admit, and I thought it would be nice to get it for you. Same goes for the pen. I really hope you enjoy them, _

_I love you, I love you, I love you,  
Too the moon and back, beyond word’s reach. _

_-Siempre,  
John_

Following the little note was a pen drawing of the two of them, a copy of one of the Polaroid photos the two had taken together on their first date, the day after they had met.  
 Alex could feel tears prickling his eyes. He didn't even think before he curled up against John, still standing, and wrapped tightly around him. “How did I ever get this lucky?” He asked softly, looking up at John and sniffling a bit.  
 At least they were happy tears.  
 John squeezed him tight and kissed his cheeks, taking the tears with him. “Are you going to be okay, dearest?” He asked gently. 

“Of course, I just.. I appreciate this so much. Thank you John.” He whispered before kissing his lips gently. 

“Anything for you, Alex.” He smiled and nosed at him a little, pecking his lips a few more times. “I’m going to start dinner, okay?” 

“Yeah, of course. That sounds great.” He smiled, pulling back from him and looking to the notebook in his hands as John walked into the kitchen. He flipped it open again, trailed his fingers over the handwritten note, then flipped to the next page, where the folded prompt list sat waiting for him. 

_Pick up a pen, start writing_.   He glanced to the pen John had given him as well. A beautiful fountain pen—he had always preferred them, claimed that they made his writing feel more alive. Not that his words needed much more life than they already had, but hey. Alex liked it. So he unfolded the prompt list and hummed a bit. 

_Day 1: What made you happy today?_

Easy. He copied down the prompt exactly, scribbled the date, then began;

_Day one, surprisingly simple. What made me happy. All around it’s been an exemplary day. Everything about it has made me happy, believe it or not. Nothing has really gone awry. Breakfast and a bath with John upon waking, working on my articles, finishing my midterm essays and even beginning work on the finals. No word from either of those loons who seem to thrive on making me miserable, plans for dinner with Eliza this weekend made. Everything has gone rather lovely._

_Though the defining factor is surely the gift of this notebook. Daresay I, the gift of John as a whole? Too cliche? Definitely._

_Oh well._

_John has outdone himself with this one, truly. I never realized how much he cared. It’s spectacular. The way it was presented, the way he just knows and understands me never fails to astonish me. Apparently he had been watching for some time and caught me eyeing the pen and the notebook and just… Purchased them for me. What have I done to earn him, really?_  
 He paused his writing, looking back to see John in the kitchen, swaying to the music in his headphones and singing along as he prepared their dinner. He was absolutely lovestruck. He turned back to his notebook to shake himself from the feeling the best he knew how.

 _So, what has made me happy today? The same thing that always does. The only thing that is guaranteed to anymore. John, and everything about him. Waking up to see that sleepy little sparkle in his eyes, sharing intimate closeness with him in the shower, sharing our breakfasts, even him tormenting me for “what must be (my) eightieth cup of coffee this morning”, as seems to be our routine. He makes me happy, and he has since the day we met. My dear Laurens has taken advantage of my sensibility to steal into my affections without my consent, and I can truly say that it is one of the grandest things that has happened in my life._

He tapped the butt end of the pen against the notebook and went back, browsing over what he had written before he nodded to himself. That was good for day one, he thought. So he carried on, scribbled down a signature at the end of day one’s entry. 

With nothing else left to write for that prompt, he began browsing through the rest. He started to realize that some of this may require more thought than day one, and he may have to struggle to write not just about John and his classes, but he would do his damn best to get some variety… 

Well… 

Maybe. 

It was journalling. It was just for him, anyway. What did he care if he filled an entire journal waxing poetic about John? He did it unprompted already, why would this be any different? 

With that thought, and a soft call from the kitchen politely informing him that dinner was done, Alex capped his pen and set it aside, closing the journal and smiling. 

He had a feeling that the 30 Day Challenge would do him some good.


	2. Morning

Everything that day seemed like it was going to be hectic. Alex was nearly late to his first class, having fallen and lost the contents of his bag all over the sidewalk on his way there. He hissed and scrambled to get everything back into his bag, taking extra precautions to make sure that his journal and pen from John were still in tact.  
 He probably would have cried if they were damaged. 

Thankfully, they were no more than a bit dusty after the fall, and he damn near hugged the book the rest of his walk—now run—to class. 

He managed to slip inside just seconds before the professor shut the door and he was quick to get out his notes and rapidly begin scribbling down every word he could manage, fumbling to drink out of his thermos as he did. John, the dear that he was, had prepared him an extra thermos of coffee that morning. 

Two hours into the lecture and Alex was nearly dozing off to sleep again, but he managed to keep his head up as he wrote down every last detail he could, every bit of information he may ever need. After all, what was the point if you didn’t write everything down? 

It seemed to come sooner than usual, the hour break that he between his classes that day, and it struck him as odd. Surely he hadn’t been that invested in his notes that he lost track of the time? That just seemed implausible. _Never mind all that, though,_ he told himself as he started to rifle through his book bag, finding first a granola bar and a note from John;

_Don’t forget to eat, I’ll see you after class, baby girl!_

_-John_

Followed by another doodle, this time of himself making a heart with his hands.  
 Alex couldn’t help the smile that spread over his lips. He took the little sticky note off of the snack, then grabbed his journal, placing it on the page following his first entry. He scribbled the date down beside it and wrote his own little note beside it, _My John, he thinks of everything._ He soon flipped to the next page and unfolded the prompt list. 

_Day 2: What was your first thought right when you woke up this morning?_

He actually had to give this one some thought. He was never all that… Present in the morning, not until John woke him properly with a soft kiss and that stupid, sleepy…. _irresistible_ smile. Just the memory of that was enough to make him feel warm and fuzzy inside. 

Shit, he was in deep. 

He didn’t mind though, and he just cracked his knuckles, scribbling down the prompt and the date, then tapping his pen against the page. 

_The first thought upon waking up. Isn’t that sort of a difficult thing to answer? It seems unfair to ask someone that, honestly, but if I must remember…_

He actually paused, staring at the page as he bit his lip. Well, this was just perfect. He actually didn’t know until he closed his eyes, thought about it, remembered. 

**  
 Tucked warm into his shared bed, curled close to an even warmer figure, inviting and… Home. 

He would stay like this forever if he could, and he would try his damn best to do so. He curled against the mass beside him, face pressing against his chest and hands going to rest on his hips. He didn't want to move away. John smelled like heaven to him, gentle and earthy. Woodsy… He always smelled like the incense that he burned, vanilla and dragons blood. 

It was perfect.    
He smiled and nosed at his chest, placing a few kisses along his collar bone, while still in his sleep. The first thing that he thought of upon waking though, was the gaze that woke him. 

The first thing that he thought about… Those eyes.  
 God, John had beautiful eyes. 

He looked into his eyes and nearly purred, reaching down to lace their fingers as he locked their gazes. “Good morning…” He whispered softly and smiled, taking in every detail… 

**  

_John’s eyes. Beautiful, bright, swimming with wonder and amazement at the smallest things. My first thought was about John’s eyes, and how lucky I am to wake up to that sight every morning, to be caught in that light.  My first thought, I hate to get preachy, was how honestly blessed I am to be with this man, to be with the love of my life every day. Of course, even though I tried to keep that at bay, I couldn’t help but gain the concern that I wasn’t enough. This happens every single morning until John leans in and kisses me for the first time, and then it’s just… Washed over with warmth and happiness, and I’ve gotten what I wanted, to be stuck in that light that John gives off, wrapped up in strong arms and every worry is just… Washed away. _

_I could spend the rest of my life with him, waking up every morning and seeing those beautiful eyes, feeling that warmth, taking in everything that’s just perfectly… John. _

_The first thought I had in the morning was happiness. Welcome. Warmth and love.   And I wouldn't have it any other way._

He had just begun to scribble down his signature when he heard a familiar voice approaching behind him, excited and exuberant as always. “Alexander!!” 

He just rolled his eyes and shut his book. “Laf, good morning.” He said gently, finally opening the granola bar that John had left for him, and breaking off a little piece. “What’s up?” 

Laf smiled a little and sat beside him, stealing a small piece of the granola bar and popping it into his mouth. “Not much, my darling. What is that? You seemed to be very involved.” Laf tapped at the journal with a sparkle in his eyes. “It is quite beautiful.”   “Ah, it’s a journal from John. For a writing project.” 

“Because you need more writing?” Laf quipped with a playful grin. 

“Why yes, I do.” Alex shot back and prodded at Laf playfully, smiling and showing him the inside cover of the notebook and earning an audible “aww” from him. 

“That is the cutest thing I have seen. You two will rot my teeth.” Laf cooed and leaned against Alex, who was grinning bright enough that he didn't even care to swat him away. 

Normally that would embarrass him, but at the moment, John on his mind and one of his best friends by his side, well… Really, he didn’t have anything to complain about.   He was too happy to argue, and honestly, he could get used to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope y'all are liking this. 
> 
> I should have stated that _I_ am not taking this as a thirty day challenge, because I have six classes and Simply Cannot, but yeah. 
> 
> Lemme know if you wanna see anything in this! 
> 
> Until next time, 
> 
> -Krys


	3. Importance

Looking at the journal, Alex was beginning to get excited for the next entry. It had certainly made waking up in the morning quite a bit easier for him, and he was always eager to see what else John may have had planned for him. 

Speaking of John, he looked over to the other man’s desk, smiling a little at the sight. His easel was set up, and a canvas rested upon it, the sketch of a painting and very base picture beginning to form. Alex already knew it was a portrait of the two of them, one of the many polaroids that they had taken together since they met, but this one… This one meant the most.   
 He stood from his own desk, approaching the easel with an easy smile on his lips.   
 It was the polaroid he had taken. 

The one John kept, the one from his first date. 

He could have cried at the meaning behind the painting, but when he saw something little in the corner, a sticky note, it appeared to be, he grabbed it with delicate hands. 

_Alex,  
 I know you’re going to look, and I know you’ll know what it was. It’s going to take a while to complete, but since you’ve already seen it, happy birthday, baby girl. I know we’re a few months away, but I want it to be perfect, and I don’t want to hide it from you. _

_I love you so much, I’ll see you after class._

_-J_

He choked out a small laugh, wiping the tear from the corner of his eyes. Wow. John was just… 

Wow. 

How did Alex ever get so lucky? 

He went back to his desk, sticky note still in hand, and opened his journal. He placed the note on one of the blank pages, doodled a few messy hearts beside it, then turned to his prompts. 

_Day 3: What is important to you?_

Well, that was easy. 

Quickly, the prompt was rewritten alongside the date on the page next to the note, and he tapped his pen gently on the desk. 

_Until moving to New York, there wasn’t much of importance in my life. Sure, I’ve managed to keep a few things here and there belonging to my mother, a few things now and then that remind me of her and bring me joy, but that was it. A book, a sweater and a few photographs. Not all that much._

_Damn near raising myself turned into both a lack and fear of committing and relying upon other people, thus never realizing what they could bring to my life. Ergo, importance was not something that was easily found until recently. Upon entering the university, I was reintroduced to true passion. My studies brought out a side of me that I didn’t think I would find again after the disaster I’ve faced. Lo and behold, I met John.  
 A lot of these entries are going to be about John.   When he came into my life, I realized the importance that someone could bring along with them. The only person prior to him who could even come close was, in fact, my late mother. She gave the world to me, and when I watched her slip away, I wished that world had been taken from me instead. Life, though, does not always work out the way we wish. _

_Sometimes, that is a very good thing._

_With that said, importance;_

_John holds a very important place in my heart and my life both. He is there for me when I need him, and I for him._

_My classes and work are also very important to me, knowing that it is what will propel me into where I want to be in my life._

_John brought along friendships as well, introducing me to Lafayette and Eliza. The two of them are wonderful additions to my life, and I would do anything for them. Maria is also incredibly important to me, especially now that she and I have rectified our strange initial meeting. She is a lovely woman who I am honored to cal my friend._

_My mother still holds the most importance in my heart and mind though, despite the loss, and she is always the springboard of any major decision I make in my life. Thankfully, to my knowledge and memory of her, she is fully welcoming and loving of everything and everyone I have brought into my life, which is finally getting to where I hope it will stay._

He closed the notebook, smiling and tracing his fingers along the binding of it before he heard the door swing open. He turned back to see John enter, smiling bright and tossing his backpack aside. 

“I see you found the note.” He chuckled, stepping in and kissing the top of his head. “I brought dinner.”

“I did, it’s beautiful, perfect. Thank you, sweetheart.” He smiled and leaned his head back, pulling John to catch him in a sweet, yet still awkward, upside-down kiss. John grinned against his lips and let the contact linger as he placed the bag down on Alex’s desk. 

“Still enjoying the journal?”

“More than I knew I would.” He grinned a little and laced his fingers into John’s hair, stealing a few more awkwardly angled pecks to his lips before they drifted to his cheeks, over his freckles, then along his jaw. “John?”

“Yeah, love?”

“Have I ever told you how important you are to me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yooo holy fuck im so sorry this took so long???? wow i suck at chaptered fics. ive just Not been feeling this one. 
> 
> also it's part of kings and i have no idea why it isn't listed as such? 
> 
> anyway
> 
> until next time, 
> 
> -krys

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is based on an actual prompt list that I found, but I don't want to post it at risk of spoiling where this could be going! 
> 
> Comments and kudos mean the world, so let me know what y'all think! <3 
> 
> Come talk to me @paperthinrevolutionary on tumblr!
> 
> until next time, 
> 
> -krys


End file.
